Amber Heard Opens Up About Why She Doesn't Label Her Sexuality

The actress appears on the December cover of Allure magazine and discusses her sexuality in the accompanying cover story, describing the moment when her personal relationships first became public consumption.

“I don’t identify as anything,” she said. “I’m a person. I like who I like. I happened to be dating a woman, and people started taking pictures of us walking to our car after dinner. I [was] holding her hand, and I realized that I have two options: I can let go of her hand and, when asked about it, I can say that my private life is my private life. Or I could not let go and own it.”

Heard, who previously dated artist and photographer Tasya van Ree, decided to be open and honest, despite pressures from those in her professional sphere who tried to dissuade her from being candid.

“They pointed to no other working romantic lead, no other actress, that was out,” she told Allure. “I didn’t come out. I was never in. It’s limiting, that LGBTQ thing. It served a function as an umbrella for marginalized people to whom rights were being denied, but it loses its efficacy because of the nuanced nature of humanity.”

“As we become more educated and expand the facts of our nature, we keep adding letters,” she continued. “It was a great shield, but now we’re stuck behind it. It’s so important to resist labels. I don’t care how many letters you add. At some point, it’s going to spell ‘WE ARE HUMAN.’ ”